Milky Blue of Argentine Glacial Lakes

Visible in the lower left quadrant of this image are three bright blue glacial lakes in Argentine Patagonia: Argentino Lake, Lake Viedma and Lake San Martín (below to above).

A glacial lake is a lake with origins in a melted glacier. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land, and then melts, filling the hole or space that they have created. The scouring action of the glaciers pulverizes minerals in the rock over which the glacier passes. These pulverized minerals become sediment at the bottom of the lake, and some of the rock flour becomes suspended in the water column, giving the water a milky blue color.